Deciding to compete in a figure, fitness or bodybuilding competition is a fabulous goal to have but can also be overwhelming a little scary at times.

As a female, not only do you have to be dedicated to stick with a stringent diet, cardio program and weight training regime, you also have to present yourself to a panel of judges who are not only critiquing you on your physique, but your presentation, style and femininity as well.

I personally am a tomboy at heart and had no experience or interest in makeup, hair, heels etc. Basically anything that was “girlie” I shied away from. I felt more comfortable riding horses, lifting weights, and expressing my athleticism than trying to walk sexy in four inch heels!

I have had to slowly learn and teach myself about how to be more feminine, how to apply makeup and those darn eyelashes without them ending up on my eyebrow instead of my eyelash, how to style my hair without it looking like I am Shirley Temple and going to the prom, how to walk feminine and sexy in heals, how to smile without grimacing – (yes I am still working on that one) and how to hold myself poised with a beautiful smile even though my muscles may be cramping and my face is twitching!

Trust me, if I can do it, so can you, but the journey to get there takes time, dedication, thinking outside of the box and sometimes a little money to help create the total package of a winner on stage.

I personally have been coached by the best in the industry, Mike Davies, www.mikedaviesfitness.com, and have also had makeup lessons, hair lessons, dance lessons, acting lessons, you name it, to help create a winning look on stage. None of these things come naturally to me but I have the drive and determination to do whatever it takes to make myself the best competitor that I can be and if it comes down to who catches the judges eye most, I want it to be me and I will do whatever it takes to edge out my competitors and to do that, you have to do the “little things” right.

I am going to give you certain tips and pieces of advice that I have learned from Mike and through my own experiences, to help prepare yourself to compete on stage. These are things that are done outside of the gym – things that may be awkward, embarrassing, and you may even despise them.

Ultimately, these tips will help you carry yourself across that stage with a polished, “look at me, I’m fabulous and hot,” attitude that will catch the judges attention and will hopefully lead to better placings and more recognition from the panel of judges.

Remember, it is the little things that, if done right, add up to a complete and professional package on stage. Paying extra attention to details such as hair, makeup, suits and stage presence can ultimately separate you from the other competitors and who knows, it may make the difference between playing to place or playing to WIN!

Contest Prep Tips
————————

The Posing Suit:

One of the most important aspects of competing is having the right suit that flatters your particular physique. My suggestion to you is to take your time to try on as many suits as you can to determine what color, cut and style looks best on your body.

Each suit designer has his or her own particular flair in making suits and each will fit your physique differently. Pay special attention to fit as you do not want your suit to large or too small as that will detract from your physique. Also be careful of the colors that you choose to wear onstage.

Be aware that the color you choose will look different – usually lighter on stage under the bright lights. One other thing to consider is that the color of the suit should compliment your skin tone, eye and hair color and also your tanning product.

What colors work for Asian or African Americans, won’t necessarily mean that they will work for a blonde, blue eyed Caucasian. So again, try on the suits, even have a friend take pictures of you in the suits. Take front, back and side shots of yourself in the suits and then compare the colors, style and fit.

Think of your body as the canvas and the suit as the paint that will compliment your hard work and dedication that you put forth in the weeks leading up to the show.

Now that you have chosen the perfect suit, you can move on to picking out makeup and accessories. I personally like to use Mac eye shadow and eye liner, glow mineral eyebrow pencils, bronzer, lip liner and lipstick, Bare Essentials lip gloss in neutral, Revlon 16 hour liquid eyeliner, L’Oreal waterproof mascara, and for base foundation I really love the Era Face in #7 & #9 by Classified Cosmetics.

These are just a few of my favorite products and trust me, I’ve tried out a lot of different products to find out what works the best for me and is the easiest for me to use.

Makeup:

Some tips that I have for you concerning makeup is to look for products that have dark pigments and have tons of staying power because you don’t want your makeup melting off your face under the hot stage lights because trust me, you will be sweating!

You don’t necessarily have to spend a fortune in makeup but it is wise to purchase quality products that blend easily and go on well. Oftentimes females that compete in figure, fitness or bodybuilding competitions may not have the interest or knowledge on how to properly apply makeup, eyelashes, or choose appropriate accessories.

My suggestion to you is to go to a Mac, Bobbi Brown, Estee Lauder, Lancome, etc. makeup counter and set up a session with the makeup artist on staff to test out colors and makeup techniques. Usually these makeup sessions are free so take advantage of the free advice and tips!

When you go to a makeup sessions, it is helpful to bring in your suits that you will be wearing and I even suggest going in with a portion of your arm tanned with the product you will be using onstage so that the makeup artist can match the foundation to the color of your skin with the tanning product on.

Have the makeup artist show you how to properly apply the products that she or he is using on you so that you feel comfortable in applying them on yourself. Ask questions and don’t be hesitant to let the makeup artist know if you do not like a certain shade or application. Just be aware that the makeup needs to be very dark and dramatic and you may feel uncomfortable with it being so dark but understand that under the stage lights, your makeup and colors will be washed out and will look normal under the bright lights.

Hairstyle:

Okay so you have your suits and makeup, now we have to work with a hairstyle that is flattering to your face and is sexy, cute and stylish. Don’t make the same mistake I made at my first competition and show up the day of the show with Shirley Temple ringlets because I didn’t know a thing about styling hair—heck, my hair was lucky if it had seen the bristled side of a brush and was not in a ponytail!

A common hair mistake that I seen competitors doing is going for the prom “updo.” This look isn’t so bad if you are a bodybuilder and want to showcase your back development but for a figure or fitness competitor, it is a little over the top.

As far as hair style goes, you want to aim for what I call the Victoria Secret models’ sexy voluptuous hair that has body, volume and shine. Your hair style can be seductively wavy, big beautiful loose curls, or sleek and straight. Again, choose the style you are most comfortable with and one that you like.

My suggestion to you is to spend time with a hair stylist and pay for a wash and blowout and watch how the stylist works with your hair and ask questions about the products being used; your questions should include; what conditioner and shampoo is being used, gels, creams, glosses, hair spray that was applied to get the desired look, down to the brushes, rollers, and even the direction the hair is being brushed and tweaked while being styled.

Again, you are paying for a service so make the most of your money and get a lesson in hair styling that you feel comfortable replicating on your own on show day!

Final Check & Presentation Skills:

Suit… check, makeup… check, hair… check. What is left? Well, how about your presentation on stage? How is your walk or can you even walk in those darn heels? Can you smile? Can you hold your gut in while lightly flexing your muscle and go through the quarter turns?

My suggestion to you is to get with a seasoned competitor or trainer, I personally recommend Mike Davies who is my trainer and coach, who knows the mandatory poses. Important: practice, practice, practice!

Practice like you are at a mock show as you can never get enough practice on going through quarter turns and develop your own sense of style and signature look on stage that will tastefully set you apart from the other competitors.

This is what Mike Davies does with his clients who are prepping for a show and it really sets his clients apart from the rest of the competitors because he makes them practice the presentation correctly and he gets his girls use to standing in a line-up against other girls with amazing physiques.

You can also get presentation and posing tips from watching old Olympia tapes or even attend a show and watch how the competitors present themselves on stage. Ultimately, I suggest watching and emulating what the top Pros do at the Olympia and Arnold Classic as these are the best of the best and they didn’t get to the top by walking like a truck driver in stripper shoes!

Videotape, Compare & More Practice:

When you are going through your presentation, have someone videotape, watch and take pictures of you practicing and then review them after you are done! Compare the tapes and pictures each time you practice and get a second and third opinion of your presentation.

If you are having problems walking in heels and presenting yourself in front of a crowd, I suggest that you get with a dance teacher or acting instructor who can show you how to gracefully carry yourself in heels and move fluidly with your limbs and can also work with you on facial expressions.

Again I cannot stress the importance of practicing your turns, smile, and walk – they should be second nature to you and should not require a lot of effort or stress and that means practice!

The Big Day:

Ultimately, you want to prepare yourself as much as possible before the big show day arrives. You will be stressed out enough as it is without the added stress of trying to get your suit, makeup, and hair just right. Utilize the knowledge from a reputable trainer and have them help you with diet, training and presentation and do your homework outside of the gym starting with practicing your presentation. Practice putting on makeup and those darn eyelashes, play with your hair and just have fun!

Remember, you have taken the time, effort, and energy to get your body physically ready for a show but also as Mike Davies would say, “Do the little things right,” so that you can showcase the complete package and who knows, it may be just enough to edge out the other competitors for a higher placing!

By: Ginger Redeker

Courtesy Bodybuilding.com

I have only been bodybuilding for a year now and my diets have been a trial and error process. I have had very good results with some of my ideas and different cooking schemes. During the cutting phase of my diet I have transformed my body to the lean muscular look that I strive to achieve.

The Cutting Phase

The cutting phase is the most challenging diet for most people and I believe it is mostly a mental problem. Giving up those desserts, late night snacks and huge pasta dinners is hard and takes a ton of will power. Here are a couple of my tricks to help keep me motivated when I am temped to eat junk food. I keep pictures of myself when I look my best on competition day around and make sure that I see them several times a day, I think that this serves as a good self-motivator.

Another idea is to get rid of all the junk food out of the house, this is easy for me because my wife likes to eat healthy too. If you have a family to deal with that likes chips and pop, I would make them hide it from you. Another small trick is when you are hungry especially for sweets, go and brush your teeth or chew a piece of sugar free gum. I always hate to eat stuff right after I brush my teeth.

Emotional eating can become a big problem when trying to diet hard. Emotional eating is eating when you are bored, depressed or just out of habit. I have a hard time not eating when I’m bored, how many times a day do you go to the fridge and look through it just because you’re bored. I know that I do it at least 5-6 times a day. I always find myself at the fridge with the door open and I don’t even have a purpose to be in there, it is just a habit. Get out of the house and do something whether it is going to the gym, playing a sport, biking or jump online and go to Bodybuilding.com to check out the latest articles.

Dieting is hard and takes a ton of work! When you are dieting you have to eat more often because your meals aren’t as large and this means that you will have to carry food around with you. This is what takes the most work. In order to eat quality meals while your schedule is hectic you always need to plan ahead (even if it is a week ahead). Time is everyone’s worst enemy. Whether you have to go to school or work, everyone is familiar with a busy schedule. One good idea is to cook up a half dozen pieces of chicken on the weekend or when you have time.

This allows you to eat quality snacks and meals when you’re on the run. I will cook up six pieces of chicken and two to three cups of rice on a Sunday afternoon when I have nothing to do. Then during the week, when I’m in class or at work I am able to eat a healthy meals throughout the day all week long. I always plan ahead and if I know that I will be gone from right after breakfast until mid afternoon I will bring food. For my mid morning snack I will bring my protein or meal replacement shake and some fruit. My lunch will usually consist of rice, a vegetable and some kind of meat, and then I will bring another small meal for my mid afternoon snack.

During the cutting phase of my diet I cut carbs down to 2g per kg body weight. When I start to cut down I am weighing 221, so for me this equals out to 200g of carbs per day. If you eat healthy and don’t “waste” your carbs on simple carbs like white breads and sugars, it still ends up being a lot of food.

Fruits are the exception to the rule and should be eaten as much as your diet allows. Fruits are an ideal simple sugar that can help raise insulin levels to help “push” all the nutrients and supplements that you are taking into your cells which is a very important concept for your post workout meal. An idea of my diet during the cutting phase consists of around 200 grams of carbs and I try to get at least 200 grams of protein, I try to keep my fat down and get as many healthy fats as I can.

This is something that is completely trial and error for me. I have had good luck with this scheme but I also think that you need to be able to listen to your body. If you feel that you don’t have the energy you need or are not able to think because of carb depletion you need to modify your diet accordingly. Add some fruit or nuts to help you keep your energy level up.

Example Cutting Phase Diet

Breakfast
¾ c (before its cooked) Old fashion oatmeal with 1/8c raisins and a dash of cinnamon ~50g carbs
1 egg + 5 egg whites ~21g pro, 5 g Fat
½ grapefruit ~10g carbs

Mid morning snack
Protein shake ~ 44 g Pro
Banana ~ 28g carbs

Lunch
1 Piece of skinless boneless chicken breast ~ 35-50 g pro, ~3-6g fat
½ c (cooked) brown rice ~ 23 g carbs, 5g pro, 2g fat
½ c low fat cottage cheese ~ 28g pro, 6 carbs, 2g fat

Mid afternoon snack
Chef salad
1 c Romaine salad 2-4 carbs

Toppings For Romaine Saled
1 Piece of skinless boneless chicken breast (chopped up) ~ 35-50 g pro, ~3-6g fat
1 hard boiled egg ~ 6g pro, 5 g fat
Tbsp sunflower seeds ~ 6g pro, 5g carbs, 16g fat
2 Tbsp Fat free zesty Italian dressing ~ 4g carbs, 0g fat

Post workout meal
Protein shake ~ 44g pro
Antioxidants 1000 mg Vit C and Vit E
Fish oil or flax seed oil
Multivitamin
1 Banana ~ 28g carbs

Dinner
1 Potato without skin ~ 35g carbs, 5g pro
Toppings For Potato
½ c low fat cottage cheese ~ 28g pro, 6 carbs, 2g fat
1 Steak 8 oz ~ 50g pro, 20g fat
½ c green beans ~ 3g carbs, 1 g pro

On this day I received 200g of carbs, 285g of pro, and 50 g fat. I came in where I wanted to with my carbs but my protein was a little high so in last few weeks of cutting I can cut a little protein if I need to. My fat is good and it is around 15% of my caloric intake it could stand to be a little higher but it is good enough for cutting.

I think that sodium intake doesn’t matter until the week of the competition so I use hot sauces and salsa to flavor eggs and other foods but I still eat sodium in moderation.

I have dieted for two competitions back to back. I dieted for 6 weeks for my first competition and went from 7 % body fat to 4.4%. I then continued dieting for a grand total of 13 weeks and got down to 2.2% body fat. I think that from now on I will end up dieting for at least 12 weeks. You aren’t supposed to lose more than 1-2 pounds per week to be safe.

I think that I lost a little more lean body mass than I wanted to but then again I am right on the line for light-heavy/heavy weight. I hope to gain 5-6 pounds of lean muscle mass by next season to be able to compete at Heavy weight, so I have a year to work hard and eat right.

By: Nic Hale

Courtesy Bodybuilding.com

Should I Get On The Fitness Stage? (excerpt from article)

Question:
I have always wanted to get on stage to compete and now with the new NPC Figure category, I’d like to enter one of the competitions but the girls look a lot more muscular than me. Everyone tells me I should compete. Is this still a good idea? What if I don’t want to get too muscular? Should I even bother?

Answer:
Yes! If you want to compete, you should! I encourage participation in competition when the desire is there. Here is some help to getting your thoughts clear.

For the practical part of the journey into a competitive look, you are going to need some help from experienced professionals. I asked questions and made decisions to bring these people into my team: choreographer (for Fitness routines), posing coach, trainer, gymnastics coach, nutritionist, costume designer and hair/make up experts. It does take a team to build a champion.

The mental part of your journey can make or break you. Pay attention. It is of great self-benefit to sit with yourself and decide on what your competition goals are. The answers to these questions become the foundation you build on for success. Avoid these common oversights I have seen or experienced in all levels of competition and use these tips to create your dream experience of a lifetime.

1. Create self-goals in both the mental as well as physical.

Physical goals are more visible so they are easier to keep track of. The tricky goals are the mental ones. Being able to control your state of mind is key to any consistent success. This is much easier said than done in the face of extreme physical challenge. There are athletes that can make dreams come true with a positive attitude. You recognize the ones that have this quality right away after you have met or seen them in action. There is an energy of light around them.

They are selfless in their devotion to remaining in this state of mind. Some people are perhaps born with this naturally. I only know, I had to focus to work mine into the shape I was happy with. I also know I continue to work and build this to my own standards each and every day. There were many lessons learned in my years of competition and now here in Hollywood, I am using these same tools for what I want to portray as an actor, model and producer. Remember, the one thing you get to control is the way you react and act in every situation. Accept the facts as they are, not as you want them or think they should be. “Grace under pressure” is surely a goal worth attaining.

2. Go into training with solid goals.

Vague goals like: “win at all costs” will not help much. We have experienced goals in ourselves or others coated in a layer of something else more positively acceptable as in “I want to motivate others” or “This is just for my own best of self,” if these statements are not true desires, trying to manifest them will be a difficult time. I know good people who murmur these statements who claim to want self-gain for the good of others. What does this really mean to you? Can you identify it? You will need to dig deeper and pinpoint just what this means to you. This is not to say this positive thought process is lacking. It is just misdirected or not followed through.

3. Find out where winning falls on your personal list and why.

After all, this is competition. What if the fact you must win IS one of your true desires? This is a perfect time for you to look into why and what that represents. You may find out something about yourself you were not consciously aware of. Trust yourself. It’s worth knowing everything you can about the mental “knee jerk” reactions your brain automatically sends out. It is possible to work on channeling your thoughts and reactions in a more helpful way to yourself if you know what you are dealing with fundamentally. Remember, we all arrange our houses differently so put winning where you want it in your own house of order and know the reasons why.

4. There is nothing wrong with getting better.

You will learn along the way. Even if you win. Even if you don’t win. You will learn and you will be better next time. Nobody starts where they will end up. For some reason, we slip into expecting this of ourselves. I hear potential athletes and competitors tell me they want to wait until they are ready. Ready or perfect? When are you perfect? How will you learn? There is no getting over your first time. You cannot skip or go around this part. Repeat to yourself over and over: there is nothing wrong with getting better. So start already.

5. You are right to question anything new you will add to your world.

This will affect you and the way you represent and present yourself to the outer world. Pick the top ten things you wish to accomplish. Write them down on a piece of paper. Remember to choose from both the mental as well as the physical. They may or may not have anything to do with each other but it is important to isolate them in your own mind so you can meet challenges with insight and mental preparation. Go through them one by one and ask yourself why you want that particular goal. Meaning, what will reaching that goal bring into your life in a positive way?

You could just wing it and deal with the challenges as they present themselves. If this is your way, how is that working out for you? Are you able to get yourself motivated? Are you happy with your results or do you wish you had a more polished program? Why not be prepared? Try it.

6. Write down the answers to these questions and date it.

Goals have a funny way of changing along the way if not only in order of importance. For your information: this is not only normal it is a good thing!

7. Follow your hearts desire.

This is the path to your future. It starts in your mind and enters into your world. It is very difficult and sometimes impossible to do this in reverse order by starting outside, finding something and forcing it into our minds if our minds are not prepared. So you see, we really must follow our hearts desires for attaining our dreams and goals.

Take care of yourself. It’s worth it.

By: Brenda Kelly

Courtesy Bodybuilding.com

Many competitors are gung-ho when it comes to pre-contest figure competition training preparation, but enter the off-season, and some slack on training, nutrition, or just fail to map out a plan until it’s time to diet down for that next show. I know what you might be thinking, because I used to think this myself.

“It’s my off-season, so I don’t want to think about food and training.
This is my time to be ‘normal’ again.”
It seems like a logical reason to become lax in your training and a little more lenient in your nutrition, but in reality, all this does is wastes precious time. You have the greatest chance of making your best progress in your off-season, before it’s time to get ready for the next show.

In this article, I will cover the importance of a fine-tuned off-season program. I will teach you how to customize your program to your goals, lifestyle, and how to get the most out of your hard work. If you’re serious about moving to the next level, you need to act serious 100% of the time, not just for those 12 weeks out of the year leading up to the show.

Step 1
Getting Judges’ Feedback

The first step in a productive off-season starts before your show day ends. Yes, it begins with getting tangible feedback from the judges. You probably won’t want to stick around. Everyone is dead tired on show day, and you have to wait till all the awards are given out just to spend 5 minutes talking to a judge. Well, it’s most definitely worth it.

There have been times when I stayed for feedback, and times when I left with none, and I have to say that all the feedback I’ve ever received has helped me to grow and develop into a better competitor every single time I step onstage.

Talk to 2-3 judges at the end of the show about what you can improve upon. Ask as many questions as you need to get a good understanding of your strengths and weaknesses. Be polite, thank the judge for his/her time, and move on.

Don’t get offended by what they tell you. You are, after all, coming to them and asking them for criticism. This is what you want. This will help you become stronger and more competitive the next time you step on stage.

Step 2
Get In The Right Mindset

Most female competitors I know have the same problem when they enter the off-season. They freak out about every pound of fat they regain! While it’s important to remain relatively lean in the off-season, it’s not good physically or mentally to remain at low body fat levels for continuous periods of time. In addition, your mindset needs to change from losing fat to putting on lean muscle and improving your weak body parts.

You cannot do this effectively if you are adding in a ton of extra cardio so you don’t “blow up,” or you are restraining your calories so you don’t gain that 1 extra pound! In the same sense, you don’t want to let yourself go completely and gain 25 lbs., do no cardio, and have cheat meals every day.

Change your mentality so you are focused on lean muscle gain, and maintaining your body fat about 15 lbs. over contest weight. If your weight creeps up, let it. Everyone has a set point of body fat that their body will fight to get to. Remember that your goal and number one priority here is to make lean muscle gains. Eat clean, train hard, but forget about the fat loss!

Step 3
Formulate A Training Program

This should begin a day or two after your competition. There are many things to consider before you start listing training splits and exercises. Think about how much time you can realistically devote to training. Consider the judges’ feedback and devise a split that will address your weak points, while still allowing adequate rest for recovery and growth.

Know how long you have until it’s time to begin dieting again for your next competition. Get your hands on all the research material you can in regards to training and nutrition. This step is very important, even if you are working with a trainer. Educating yourself is the only way you can grow as a competitor and get to know your body.

Blindly following a plan set out by a trainer might get you the physique you want, but you still won’t know any more than you did before you began competing. Question, research, educate. This is a big step in setting you apart from the competition.

Setting Goals

Once you’ve done the above, make a timeline and set mini-goals for yourself. Planning out your strategy a year in advance is a great idea, and not unheard of.
If you have a 6 month off-season, you can divide your training into 6-8 week periods. Review and assess at the end of each period, and make any necessary changes.

For instance, my recent off-season was focused on improving my back thickness and width. I prioritized back by training it on day one, added in new and more effective exercises, changed my rep scheme slightly, and put in an extra second day later in the week.

After 6 weeks, I reviewed my training logs and assessed my progress, making any necessary changes to keep improving, or to focus on another mini-goal.

Tracking your total volume is an important step in your program’s effectiveness. Keep tabs on the total number of sets you train for each body part. Typically a normal volume workout would be 12-15 sets for large body parts, while a higher volume would be 18-22 sets. For smaller body parts, the volume can be significantly less, with 8-10 sets.

Cardio

As for cardio, I usually recommend cutting back to half of what you normally do during contest prep. I rarely do any cardio when prepping for a show, so I might do it once a week in the off-season.
Since I compete in fitness as well as figure, I count 1-2 routine practices per week as my cardio. I recommend no more than 4 sessions per week of 30-45 minutes.

Training Key Points

* Higher body fat and increased calories equal increased metabolism.
* Increased calories equals increased strength and recovery rate.
* Consider increasing your overall training volume.
* Consider training your weak part(s) twice per week.
* Don’t train more than 3 body parts per workout, so you can give enough attention to each individual muscle group.
* Keep cardio to a minimum to maintain about 15 lbs. over contest weight.
* Track total training volume and increase or decrease workload based on recovery rate, energy and strength levels, and individual body part goals.
* Change your program up for variety, but keep it consistent long enough to yield solid gains.

Step 4
Planning Your Diet

Yes, it’s still considered a diet, even if your goal is not fat loss. Proper nutrition is the number one way you can change the effectiveness of your training program and thus, the results you’ll yield from that program.

To maintain a lean body fat and still make gains, your calories only need to be 200-300 more than they were while you were dieting.

I like to manipulate my carbohydrates primarily, and add in some dietary fats as well. My numbers change from being 150g protein/100g carbs/25g fat during the season to 150g protein/150g carbs/35g fat during the off-season. You may need to try several different plans to see what feels the best for you. Considering cheat meals is another big factor.

If you rarely cheat, you will be able to consume more calories from clean foods and still stay lean. I recommend cheating no more than 1-2 times per week, and not going crazy on those cheats. By not going crazy, I mean eating 3-4 slices of pizza instead of 8 plus breadsticks!

I highly recommend keeping alcohol limited or eliminated. It will drain your body of the nutrients it needs for muscle repair and growth. Don’t waste your off-season by partying all the time. You might be training hard, but without the nutrition backing it up, you won’t see your best gains – period!

Protein & Carbohydrate Types & Timing

I want to briefly address this very important aspect of diet. Nutrient timing is very important in keeping your body in a positive nitrogen balance and providing energy for your training sessions.

Protein

Be sure to choose a variety of protein sources to get a varied array of amino acid profiles. Whey isolate, soy isolate, and a casein protein should all be part of your supplementation plan. Choose a variety of whole food sources as well, including poultry, lean red meat, and fish.

Carbs

For carbohydrates, make sure you ingest good complex carbohydrates for breakfast, pre-workout, and post-workout. These will spare your muscle tissue and fuel your workouts to the optimum level. My favorite sources are oatmeal, 7-grain rice, brown & wild rice, and sweet potatoes.

Education

Educate yourself on the different types of protein and carbohydrates, as well as the optimum time to take each type. This will help you make 20-50% better gains than leaving your diet to chance or convenience.

Nutrition Key Points:

* Being attentive to your diet all the time will yield 20-50% better gains.
* Educate yourself on nutrient timing.
* Educate yourself on protein & carbohydrate types.
* Get a wide variety of proteins & carbohydrates.
* Do not rule out the importance of vegetables in the off-season.
* Keep your water intake up at 1 gallon per day.
* Use protein powders and bars to meet your nutrient requirements when necessary.
* Get at least 2/3 of your daily meals from whole food sources, rather than supplements.

Step 5
Plan Your Supplementation

Your supplements should actually decrease when you enter the off-season. You are getting more food and thus, more nutrients, vitamins and minerals, making the need to supplement not as necessary.

MultiVitamin

What I always recommend is a good multi-vitamin.
For anyone who trains hard, Universal’s Animal Pak is the way to go. This supplement gives you everything you need in the optimal amounts, unlike most vitamins you buy at the grocery store.

In addition, you get amino acids, essential fatty acids, digestive enzymes, and more. It’s the perfect multi for any athlete!

Protein Powders

Protein powders are also a staple of off-season supplementation. As I mentioned above, the three types you should have on hand are a whey isolate, soy isolate, and a casein blend (night time protein).

Whey Isolate

Whey isolate is important because it gives you the quick absorption rate of whey without the associated bloating and indigestion caused by many of the whey concentrates.

Soy Isolate

Soy isolate is an excellent medium-release protein, which makes it great for taking mid-day or any time. Recent research has shown that supplementing with soy has no effect in decreasing testosterone levels, even in men1.
So there is no need to worry about the false assumptions that soy isoflavones increase estrogen levels1.

Casein Protein

Finally, a slow-release protein that contains calcium caseinate or micellar caseinate, is essential.
These are best taken at night right before bed, but you can also take them at any time during the day. My favorite brands include MHP Probolic-SR and VPX Micellean.

Other Supplements

You may or may not wish to add additional supplements to your program that are not listed here. That depends on your budget and how sound your nutrition program is. Other great off-season supplements are creatine and natural hormone boosters.

Supplementation Key Points
* Thoroughly research a supplement before adding it to your program.
* Time the supplement according to when it is most effective.
* Don’t fall in to the hype of a new supplement; use tried and true products that have been proven to yield results.

Step 6
Journal Everything!

Again, it may seem annoying and time-consuming, but if you want to be your best you need to put in the extra time to maximize your program. And journaling is one of the best ways to do so.

I use the Bodybuilding.com workout journal to track every single training session.

I also log in any cardio I do, note my energy and strength levels on a 1-10 scale, and keep track of the supplements I’ve taken that day and at what times. I use FitDay.com to track my nutrition every day.

It takes me about 15 minutes each morning to plan out my meals and supplements and time them around my training and day’s activities.

These journals become invaluable references down the road. I’ve looked back many, many times to review my previous training programs, diets, and supplements. It helps me continue on an effective plan, or revamp and make it more efficient, if necessary.

Sample Complete Off-Season Plan

Just to give you an idea of what to plan for and how to plan it, I am providing an example of my most recent off-season program in full.

Bear in mind that this program is to give you an idea of how to structure your program and points to consider, but is not a “one size fits all” training program.

Ultimately, getting to know your own body and how best to feed and train it is what you are aiming for.

Sample Diet

0745:
1.5c Essential 10 cereal
1/2c soy milk (300)
0820-0850
Run

0900:
1/2 small bottle Gatorade (43)

0940:
1c homemade fruit salad
1 scoop Syntrax Nectar (164)

1035:
Liquid glucosamine/chondroitin
500mg calcium
500mg vitamin C

1200:
6 slices deli turkey
1/2 large WW tortilla
1/4c avocado (168)

1400:
4 oz carb control yogurt
1/4c 1% cottage cheese
1/2 oz VPX Micellean (152)

1530:
Animal M Stak

1615:
4 egg whites in olive oil
1/3c oatmeal (215)

1845:
Detour bar (160)

2045:
9 slices deli turkey
2 slices singles ff cheese (165)

2230:
1/2c 1% cottage cheese
2 tbsp milk protein isolate (123)

Totals: 36g fat, 152g carbs (32g fiber), 155g protein

Sample Training Split

Monday – Back & Traps
Tuesday – Chest & Arms
Wednesday – Rest
Thursday – Legs & Calves
Friday – Shoulders & Back

*For this split, I prioritized back by training it first on day one, then again on Friday with a lighter volume workout.

Sample Workout Back & Traps – 4:50-5:40pm

Pull-ups
1 set of 6
1 set of 4
1 set of 3

Barbell Row
Bar x 15
10’s x 12
10’s x 12
20’s x 8

1-Arm DB Row, Unsupported (R,L) (Ex. Shown Supported)
25 x 12
30 x 12
35 x 10
40 x 8

Underhand Seated Cable Row
60 x 15
70 x 12
80 x 10
80 x 10

Close-Grip Lat Pull-Down
70 x 12
70 x 10
70 x 10
90 x 8
60 x 8
DB Reverse Shrugs (Ex. Shown With Barbell)
25’s x 15
35’s x 10
40’s x 10
50’s x 8

Back – 20 sets
Traps – 4 sets

Energy – 7.5
Strength – 9.0
Duration – 50 minutes

*I track the length of workout, time I trained, total sets per body part, and energy and strength on a scale of 1-10.

Conclusion

This may seem like a lot of work to develop a plan for what is supposed to be your “down time.” I won’t sugar-coat it for you; it is quite a bit of work. But like contest prep itself, there are few who can sustain and endure the rigors of an extreme diet and demanding training to step on stage in near-perfect condition.

If you want to set yourself apart the next time you’re in a line-up of 30+ fit and beautiful women, take the extra time to formulate your off-season plan for maximum results. Prepare for your next show now, no matter how many months it is until show day. In this highly competitive sport, fine-tuning and attention to detail set apart the amateurs from the professionals.

With competitive bodybuilding, fitness and figure, it’s what you do when you’re at home and in the gym that determines the final outcome on competition day. Put your all into your program and maximize your time by preparing now. Remember, failing to plan is planning to fail!

By: Alissa Carpio

About the Author

Alissa Carpio is a 6-time consecutive champion in NPC fitness and figure competition. Her 2005 placings include NPC Junior USA Fitness Tall 1st and NPC Pittsburgh Fitness Tall 1st. She is currently preparing for NPC Fitness Nationals in November, and has been since her final competition last May. Read more about Alissa’s contest preparation on her site: www.alissa.net

Courtesy Bodybuilding.com

References

B.L. Dillingham, B.L. McVeigh, J.W. Lampe, and A.M. Duncan, “Effects of Soy Isoflavone Consumption on Reproductive Hormones in Healthy Young Men,” Department of Human Biology and Nutritional Sciences, University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada. Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, Seattle, Washington, USA

Pre Contest Diet For Champion Bodybuilder Vinny Galanti!

As bodybuilders we all do the same things, we eat five to seven meals a day, and we drink about a gallon of water a day, and we have a set spilt training system that we feel works best for our body types. And we take supplements for various different goals, but the one thing that separates a good physique from a championship physique is: Consistency

Consistency

Consistency is the key; never guess, never underestimate, never question the game plan. Sometimes we question the path we are on, and change gears too fast before we see any results. I am also guilty of this and had to learn the hard way.

Before starting any contest diet, I go through a period of transition. I take five weeks to “talk myself into it”; starting my diet. When I am 15 weeks out I am ready to go full swing.

I have all my ducks lined up, all the supplements I will use over the next three and a half months, and all the food I need in my freezer, cabinets, and fridge. I leave no stone unturned, no excuse to cheat on my diet. You must stay on your diet every day, all week long, every month.

Consistency even applies to listening to your trainer/coach. You have to consistently listen to the help that is there for you, and if you are doing it alone, you have to be open to see when things are not working and then, and only then, make a change. You have to consistently pay attention to every detail.

Getting Ready For The Nationals

When I got ready for the ‘05 Nationals, I had to re-qualify, and competed in the Gold’s Classic here in NJ. I was eating your basic high protein low/mod carb diet without any added fats, and when I carb depleted from Sunday to Wednesday before the contest on Wednesday night I thought it was one of the best conditions I had ever been in. But after two days of carbing up exactly like I had done in the past, I looked flat and smooth on Saturday.

Dave Palumbo changed everything, and I followed his advice the following week leading into the East Coast, again here in NJ, and came in bone dry and won my class, and followed that up with a 5th place in the NPC Nationals.

Here is what I follow for 15 weeks when I compete:

Meal 1:
o 3 scoops of whey
o 1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter
o 1 Animal Pak
o 1 Animal Flex

Meal 2:
o 8 ounces of grilled chicken breast
o 1/4 cup of cashews
o 2 cups of brussell sprouts

Before Training:
o 1 serving EAA Stack

After Training:
o 1 serving of EAA Stack
o 1 serving of Storm

Meal 3:
o 8 ounces of tilapia
o 1/4 cup of almonds
o 12 asparagus

Meal 4:
o 8 ounces of sushi grade salmon
o 2 cups of asparagus

Meal 5:
o 8 ounces of grilled chicken breast
o Large green salad with 1 tablespoon of olive oil and red vinegar

Meal 6:
o 3 scoops of whey
o 1 tablespoon of natural peanut butter

And all the very best with your ongoing progress.

By: David Robson  Courtesy Bodybuilding.com

David’s advice and tips on bodybuilding poses.

Excellence In Execution: Perfecting The Pose

In bodybuilding competition, posing ability can often be the difference between winning or losing a closely fought battle. Nothing looks worse than someone with a great physique with an inability to show it to full advantage due to inferior posing skills.

Many a bodybuilder has lost because they had not been able to show their muscles effectively. Judges can only judge what they can see and if one, due to deficiencies in posing, is hiding certain aspects of a particular muscle group, or worse, distorting their previously flawless physique into something grotesque, they may be overlooked in favor of one who is able to convey a winning physique, and attitude.

Posing is not something that should just be practiced in the remaining weeks leading up to a show. Indeed, it has a year-round application. In addition to enhancing ones ability to impress the judges, posing between sets has been shown to be an effective way to speed muscle growth.

Hard posing following fascial stretching (stretching the protective sheath that envelopes the muscle to allow more room for the muscle to grow) will accentuate muscle hardness and separation. This can be done during a workout, between sets, and will provide further opportunity to perfect posing presentation.

The Mandatory Poses

In bodybuilding, there are eight mandatory poses:

1. Quarter Turns
2. Front Double Biceps
3. Rear Double Biceps
4. Front Lat Spread
5. Rear Lat Spread
6. Side Triceps
7. Side Chest
8. Front Abdominal & Thigh

A pose which is either optional or mandatory depending or the federation one belongs to is the most muscular. During any bodybuilding show, in the pre-judging portion, the bodybuilder will be called upon to complete the mandatory poses, often several times he or she is called back out and compared with their fellow competitors.

It is at this stage the judges will get their initial glimpse. Following the mandatories is the free posing pound where all seven compulsory poses can be incorporated into a choreographed 60-second routine. Once again, points are given here for excellence in posing ability. To excel in bodybuilding, posing should be given full attention.

One of the best ways to perfect the mandatories is to regularly practice them correctly. Another way is to watch pro-bodybuilders in action. As their career depends on perfect posing, pro-bodybuilders will display their physiques flawlessly and one should try to emulate their example. A description of the mandatories follows:

1: Quarter Turns

The quarter turns are the first series of poses a competitor will be asked to complete. They provide a good indication of overall muscle symmetry.

To begin the quarter turns, stand in a semi relaxed position. Arms should hang to the sides, with weight distributed evenly. Widen the shoulders, flare the lats and flex the thighs and abs to enhance muscularity.

The quarter turn to the right to show the left side of body comes next. As with the front semi relaxed pose, one should stand straight with feet flat on the ground. Face ahead and tense shoulders, thighs and abs slightly. Technically, when standing to the side one should not twist their body around to emphasize any aspect of the upper physique. This, however, is done quite often.

Another quarter turn to the right to display the rear musculature of the upper and lower body. Again, stand straight and widen shoulders. It is also a good idea at this point to flex the calves for maximum effect.

As with the previous quarter turns, the competitor should, when quarter turning for a third time, stand straight and look ahead this time to expose the right side of the body. Finally, quarter turn to the right and stand in the semi relaxed front pose.

2: Front Double Biceps

In order to convey biceps size and lat width, it is important that the competitor lift their elbows higher than their shoulders with this pose. The key thing to remember is to keep the shoulders down and elbows up so that lat development can be emphasised.

It is also important to pull the arms back slightly to highlight the delineation between the biceps and triceps. Bend the legs, at the knees, slightly to accentuate the quads. Remember to keep everything flexed. The best practitioners of this pose are Dexter Jackson and Lee Priest.

3: Rear Double Biceps

With this pose try to keep the back leg, which extends behind, angled out so as to convey the illusion of great width in the lower body. Flex the calves and hamstrings for full effect. As with the front double biceps, keep the elbows higher than the shoulders and spread the lats.

Do not push the backside out, keep it tucked in and tightened. Also tighten the lower back to highlight the erector muscles. With both the front and back double biceps, keep the thumbs tucked in as this looks more professional.

4: Front Lat Spread

Keep heels together with toes pointed out at a 45-degree angle. This positioning accentuates the outer thigh sweep.

Place hands on waist to decrease its width and flare out the lats to make them visible from the front. Keep the shoulders flexed and up.

5: Rear Lat Spread

Legs should be positioned as in the rear double bicep pose. Push waist in with hands and flare lats out (this pose should also show the shoulder to hip body taper).

Place hands to the front of body while keeping shoulders up and straight. Never hunch over as this can obviate much of the upper lat musculature.

6: Side Triceps

Stand to the side and press the front thigh and calve hard against the rear leg. Keep abs tight and pulled in.

Keep arm to be displayed straight and grasp the wrist of this hand with the opposite hand – to hold it in place. Press arm against torso to create an illusion of thickness. Jay Cutler performs this pose magnificently.

7: Side Chest

Position legs as you would with the side triceps pose. Take a deep breath and lift chest up and out. Grasp arm to be displayed with opposite hand. Bend arm to flex bicep.

Avoid lifting the rear shoulder up as this will reduce chest thickness. Instead, keep this shoulder down and bring arm across slightly to highlight the striations in the opposite pectoral.

A picture of Arnold demonstrating this pose shows exactly how elevated the chest needs to be to create an impression.

8: Front Abdominal & Thigh

With this pose, try to emphasize lat width and, of course, ab and thigh development. Begin by placing one leg out and flexing the thigh and calve. Place hands behind neck and bring shoulders down.

Flare lats while keeping elbows up and back. Vacuum the abs in and crunch down on the frontal rib cage, abdominal wall, intercostals, serratus anterior, and obliques while exhaling.

9: Most Muscular (Optional Or Compulsory)

As the name suggests, the most muscular pose should display maximum amounts of muscle to overwhelm the judges. All frontal muscles will be displayed as the competitor crunches each hand together, while contracting the chest, biceps and shoulders. Thighs and calves should also be flexed.

There are many variations on this standard most muscular: stand with palms on hips and push down, place one palm on hips and the other in front of the body or place both hands behind the back and pull arms forward.

The Free-Posing Round

The fr3e-posing round includes a posing display designed by the competitor to music of their choice. The idea with free-posing is to choose music and emphasize poses that will complement ones physique and natural stage presence. If one is known for overall massive muscle development, “power poses” like the most muscular might be emphasized.

Music could range from the loud thrashing strains of ACDC to upbeat techno. Smaller competitors, who perhaps are blessed with greater symmetry, could use softer music; classical or easy listening for example. A free-posing routine should include all of the compulsories, or variations of, and incorporate many optional poses such as the intercostal twitch crunch, hamstring flex or the javelin-thrower (one of Arnold’s favorites).

Also, it is important to try to develop something unique that will capture the judges’ eye. Many bodybuilders are known by certain signature poses: Samir Bannout with his arms and hands outstretched springs to mind. With free-posing it is also wise to perfect the transitions between each pose as a deficiency in this area will give the appearance of a sloppy routine.

Transitions are essentially all movements between any given pose and will need to be factored into the pre-judging compulsories also. Analyse the posing routines of Shawn Ray or Lee Labrada for examples of perfect transitions.

Posing For Muscle Growth & Self Assesment

Posing between sets can have a profound effect on muscle hardness and detail. In fact, entire workouts can be based around the concept of ISO-tension, where the muscle is tensed and held for a count of ten. Flexing works in much the same way, but for bodybuilding purposes the emphasis should be pose perfecting and muscle chiselling as a pre-contest strategy.

Posing in the gym also helps to one pre-asses their physique to observe any weak points, which can be addressed before stepping on stage. The great Arnold said it best:

“You can’t practice posing too much. I always believed in flexing and posing whatever body parts I was training during any workout in the gym. If I trained arms, I would stop between sets and do some arm shots, studying myself in the mirror. Training legs or anything else, I would always take time to pose.”
Posing this way is not vanity. It has two specific advantages. On the one hand, this constant flexing in its self is a good form of training, helping to make the muscles hard and well defined. On the other, it constantly shows you exactly how much development you have achieved or failed to achieve.

As great as your physique may appear at rest, it will primarily be judged as seen in poses. Therefore, what it looks like when you pose is the ultimate measure of your success.

That is why I always assessed my physique by seeing what I looked like posing. Did I need more cuts in the upper back? Was I getting the right tie-in between pecks and delts? There is no way to tell without examining the body in each of these important poses, and that’s why I felt I could never pose enough”.

Conclusion

To present oneself onstage in the best possible light, it is not only important to have a well conditioned physique. One must also present this physique to the best of their ability. Perfecting the various mandatory poses as well as the optional ones will highlight hard-won musculature and add an element of class to anyone’s contest showing.

Posing in the gym will also enhance ones competitive chances. In addition to improving the ability to perform each pose, between sets posing will help to harden and chisel the muscles. Weak-point observation can also be done by posing constantly. Remember, the best physique in the show may fail to win if posing is substandard.

References:
Schwarzenegger, A.(1999).The New Encyclopaedia of Modern Bodybuilding. Fireside, NY.

By: David Robson

Courtesy Bodybuilding.com

There is no doubt about it – Natural Bodybuilding competition has arrived! Currently we have more shows running and a greater number of athletes competing then ever before. Unfortunately, I believe the standard of competition has remained stagnant for some time. Granted we have some sensational athletes with incredible physiques, but overall the standard of competition remains the same. I believe that many competitors are simply falling short with their contest preparations.

As a successful competitor, I have been fortunate enough to gain valuable insight from the ‘who’s who’ of international natural bodybuilding to find out what works first time – every time – to achieve sensational stage presence. I would now like to share these tactics with you.

I’ll cover each topic one by one, so by the end of this article you will be confident knowing that the package you display for your next competition will be your best!

Weight Training

Some people still believe that to develop ‘razor sharp’ cuts you need to decrease your weights and up the reps and chase the burn. This is simply not true. The condition you display on stage is simply a result of an effective pre-contest strategy. Your weight training is used to maintain/increase muscle mass – it’s that simple!

In our off seasons we tackle a low rep/high intensity weight-training program to stimulate muscle growth, so why change before your contest? You should be trying to build mass up until the contest day. If you take away the overload – the reason for your mass in the first place – then you will lose muscle, period! This is the reason you hear so many competitors complain that they lost way too much mass in the last couple of weeks. Low overload, high reps and excessive cardio will lead to muscle loss!

Up until 2 weeks out, your workouts should be focused on low reps and maximum weights hitting momentary muscular failure on EVERY set. The week before your final week you can taper off a little, but only a little. Here the goal is to stop one rep short of failure. The reason being is that this will reduce the chance of injury, and if you do have any injuries this will allow them to heal.

The final week before the comp isn’t a time to up your training, but actually to drastically reduce it. If your competition is on Saturday, then your final workout will be on Tuesday. Train Monday and Tuesday (whole body session split over 2 days), and make sure that they are only of a minimal intensity. You are just trying to burn off the final glycogen stores before your carbohydrate loading period. This now leaves the rest of the week for recovery and finalising the smaller details to your physique.

Cardio Training

Believe it or not, an effective approach to cardiovascular exercise WILL NOT lead to muscle wastage, but can increase muscle size. There is 2 reasons for this:

Intensity and overload: If you engage in a high intensity cardio program, you will create the same stimulus for muscle gain that weight training causes. Just make sure that you follow your cardio sessions with the same nutritional approach that you do with your weight training.

This contradicts what a lot of others might say, but it’s not the ‘fat burning’ from cardio that you need to be concerned with. Effective cardio programming is best described as the total rise in energy expenditure over several hours. This is what creates the best results.

Intense cardio increases your fitness: The fitter you are, the more this will benefit all facets of your training. If you are aerobically fit, you will be able to push harder and recover faster from both your cardio and weight programs. It is very rare to see someone who is in great shape and not aerobically fit as well.

Nutrition

Nutrition is simply a ‘tool’, which is used to get you to where you want to go. So many people make the mistake in the way they view food and this only distracts then from the task at hand.

Contest dieting is only as hard as you make it. There is simply no reason to live on steamed chicken and rice if this doesn’t suit you. There are numerous choices of lean meats to eat, and vegetables and essential fats should already be part of your balanced ‘off season’ diet, and don’t forget the condiments.

Spend some time in your supermarket and you will be amazed at the varieties on offer, which are all low fat, salt reduced – even carbohydrate reduced if that’s what you are looking for. Spices can also be used to flavour any dish to your liking.

In the end, contest dieting is only as hard as you make it. There are 5 simple guidelines I offer my clients when it comes to contest dieting:

* Eat quality protein
* Eat functional carbohydrates suited to your requirements
* Eat essential fats
* Drink more water then you do now
* It all comes down to calories! You simply need to either eat fewer calories than your body needs, or burn more calories then you consume to kick-start and maintain the fat burning process.

Supplementation

Supplements can no doubt enhance the package you display on stage. The problem is in choosing the ones best for you. From personal experience and from the experience of my clients, I would say stick to the basics!

Of all the hundreds of products sitting on the shelves as we speak, nothing beats a good quality Whey Protein, Creatine Monohydrate and L-Glutamine. You could also throw into the mix here a good quality Multi Vitamin/Mineral and if you are starting to feel the strain, a good quality Glucosamine/Chondroitin Sulfate product.

I honestly believe that you simply do not need anything more then this. Combine these basic products with a great nutrition plan and an effective weight training and cardio vascular program, come contest day you will be big, full and with razor sharp definition.

Recovery

Many people forget about recovery when it comes to pre-contest planning. Motivation is a powerful tool and you might believe that you would be able to push hard indefinitely however you definitely need to schedule time for recovery. With all the training, cardio, posing practice, and running around that comes with competition whilst on calorie-restricted diet, a frantic pace cannot be sustained forever.

Be diligent with the hours you sleep each night, and try to kick back for a couple hours during the day as well. Your body will thank you, and the mental break each day will keep you refreshed for when you need to be.

Competition Specifics

Posing – Compulsory Poses

You have spent months training and dieting hard for your competition so do not let it all go to waste with poor posing. You need to be able to pose – and pose well – to do justice to all your efforts. There is just no reason to go through all the hard work if you fail to present properly.

If you have never posed before, then I suggest you find an experienced competitor who is renowned for their ‘on stage’ grace and see if they will coach you. If you can’t find anyone, get along to your nearest competition and study how all the competitors pose. Some pose better then others, but if you have never competed before this is a good place to start.

If you are a seasoned competitor then there is no reason for you not being able to pose. But I strongly suggest that you brush up on your skills to generate some ’stage fitness’.

Posing is hard work and the more you practice, the better you will be able to perform them and hold them for longer when it counts. A good time to start your posing practice is when you officially begin your pre-contest preparation. Start off with just 10 minutes a day in the bathroom mirror. By 4 weeks out, you should be spending a minimum 30 minutes a day on your compulsory poses, holding each pose for at least a minute and moving from one pose to the next without breaking. Pose exactly the same way you will be required to on show day. This way when the big day arrives, you will be ready.

Posing – Your Routine

My best advice here would be to know your limitations! If you cannot dance, then by all means do not include some funky dance steps into your individual posing routine. Many competitors try to dazzle the crowd with all these elaborate moves, but this tactic only ever works if you have the grace of Fred Astaire on stage.

If you have the ability then by all means go for it. This could be your forte where you really excel, but for the majority of us, know your limitations. More times then not, a simple routine with perfectly executed poses is so much better (and scores higher) then a spectacular routine performed poorly.

Posing – Your Music Selection

The music you use needs to be a reflection of your personality. It is so much easier to perform a great routine if you enjoy the song that you are using. With your routine, you are ’selling’ your physique to the judges. They will place you according to not only how you perform your routine, but also how your routine flows with your physique and the music you have chosen. If you have a rugged, muscular physique, you would not want to focus on a lot of classic, artistic poses combined with the latest dance song.

My tips for music selection are:

* Pick a song that you like (a song that you will not get sick of hearing over and over)
* Pick a song that matches your abilities (if you cannot dance, don’t pick Ricky Martin)
* Pick a song that matches your personality (if you are a funny person by nature, don’t use a soppy love song).

Finally, don’t use anything that is top 40. If you do, then there is a good chance that someone else could use your song as well. Could you imagine the frustration if you arranged a great routine and the competitor performing before you has used the same song as you had chosen? No matter how great the routine is, the impact will not be the same on the judges because they have just heard that very song

Tanning

Tanning is always one of the things that people seem to muff on contest day. Usually they are too dark, too light, blotchy skin etc and this can really distract from an otherwise championship physique. Here I am going to reveal my tanning program, which will result in a prefect tan, every time!

From 5 weeks out – You need to get into the solarium! The solarium serves two purposes. The first is to create a great base tan, which you need before you apply contest colour. The second is that the solarium will dry your skin out. To bring out the deep cuts and vascularity on stage, you need a good base tan and paper-thin skin. Here is how I advise solarium usage:

5 weeks out – 2 x sessions (Tuesday, Friday)
4 weeks out – 3 x sessions (Monday, Wednesday, Friday)
3 weeks out – 4 x sessions (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday)
2 weeks out – 4 x sessions (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday)
Week of show – 4 x sessions (Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday – this session must be in the am).

Contest Colour

I advise your final tanning bed session in the am because you need to start thinking about applying contest colour the day before the big show. Some people say to start applying colour from 3 days out, but I personally think this is impractical. I like to keep my house as ‘tan free’ as possible, hence the extended use of the sun bed.

After the tanning bed, get yourself into the shower for a thorough clean. Exfoliate the skin, and grab a razor to touch up any missed stray hairs. This is your last shower before the show so make it a good one. Once the first coat of tan goes on, you must stay dry.

When you’re finished, make sure you are completely dry.

You want to apply the first coat of contest colour around lunchtime the day before your show. Most beauty salons now have spray tans, which are similar to contest colour, but as I have never used them, I’ll stick to the method I know best – the brush. Additionally, It is best to have someone apply your colour for you.

I usually like to start with the legs. Start with long, even strokes to see how the colour is reacting with your skin. Start at the front of the leg and from top to toe, apply the colour. Complete one leg completely, then move to the other. After legs, I’ll move onto back, torso, shoulders, arms and finish off on the face. A great way to apply colour to your face is with a soft make up pad or soft sponge. Your face only needs subtle colour and this is a great way to control its consistency.

After you are done, remain still for about 20 minutes until the colour is completely dry. You are then able to move around freely. Apply your next coat at 8pm that same night and a final coat at about 5am on contest day.

Dream Tan, Contest Shimmer and similar products.

If there is a tanning ’secret’ I have, then this is it. Forget what the container says about how to use these products, this way is much more effective. About 2 hours after your final coat of contest colour apply your Dream Tan (around 7am show day). Apply a nice, lustrous coat, making sure you get into all the nooks and crannies. When completed, get dressed in some nice, warm clothes. Avoid anything with tight waistbands as these marks will show on stage. Draw string track pants and loose jumpers work best. Dress to keep warm, but not to sweat.

Why is this method so effective?

We would all agree that Dream Tan and associated products are quite thick and can be difficult to work in fully. When you apply it early in the day, you have time on your side. When you apply the tan 30 minutes before you hit the stage, there isn’t enough time for it to fully work into the skin, hence loss of condition and a ’sometimes’ puffy look.

Applying it early (and staying warmly dressed) lets the tan work its way into the skin. Any excess tan you might have simply comes off onto your sweats. I guarantee that if you try this tanning technique for your next show, and you take your sweats off 10 minutes before going on stage you will be blown away with your colour – dark, even and with your vascularity intact!

Hair Removal

When it’s time, you must remove ALL the hair. Some people will just remove the obvious hair (arms, legs etc) but even the finer hair can distract from your physique. Even if you are fair and have minimal body hair, run the razor over your shoulders, back, chest etc. When you are putting everything into your prep, you don’t want the odd patch of hair taking away from your presentation.

The choice between waxing and shaving is solely a personal one, as each will produce the same result. If you choose to wax, make sure you do it at ideally 2 weeks before the comp. This will allow the puffiness and follicle redness associated with waxing to disperse, plus it is still close enough for the re-growth to not show. If you are shaving, make sure you shave down at least 2 days out. You need to be hair free before you start applying contest colour. If you shave after application, it will effect the coat.

Grooming

On contest day, make sure you are well groomed!

Yes it is a bodybuilding competition and we are looking at your physique, but don’t spoil your look with a scruffy appearance. Go off and get a haircut – clean styles work best on stage. Lastly, guys, ‘out there’ hairdos only take the judges eyes OFF your physique. Not really what we are hoping for are we?

There you have it, my complete pre-contest guide to your best ever physique. Apply these tactics for your next competition, and I guarantee you will turn up with your best ever physique!

About The Author

Josh Dickinson is a Co-Founder of Physique Essentials – A Health & Fitness consultancy company determined to assist people reach their physique goals Naturally. He is an accomplished bodybuilding competitor and a certified personal trainer. If you have any questions that you would like answered by one of Australia’s quickest rising competitors, physique-essentials.com

Courtesy Bodybuilding.com

Bodybuilding competitions, fitness competitions, figure competitions… Which one? How do I go about it? Have you thought about competing? Do you want to spend 12 grueling weeks working your butt off while taking in fewer calories than you burn? Would you not miss a workout or a meal for the 12 weeks prior to the contest? If you answered yes to these questions, competing is right for you!

Choosing An Organization

Once you make the choice to start competing, you then have to determine which organization(s) you are going to be a part of. Most organizations have you purchase a membership card, which usually lasts a year. Once you pay for this card, you are able to enter any of the contests that the organization is having throughout the year.

Keep in mind that these are amateur organizations and there are no cash prizes. In order to start receiving money for placing in competitions, you have to turn pro and enter the pro contests. You do so by winning a pro-qualifier or placing in the top three at a super qualifier.

When choosing which organization you want to be a part of, you should first look at what substances they allow. There are two kinds of organizations, tested and non-tested. An example of a non-tested organization would be the IFBB. This organization allows all substances because they don’t test their athletes.

The tested organizations can further be broken down into two categories: those that allow prohormones and all other products that are legal, and those who don’t allow any hormones altogether. An example of each would be MuscleMania and the INBF. MuscleMania allows prohormones and related products, while the INBF doesn’t allow them.

In order to find out which organization is right for you, you must think about the substances you take or have taken. If you have taken prohormones or related substances, you will most likely not be able to enter into organizations that don’t allow them.

The only way you would be able to do this is if the product wasn’t banned by the organization at the time that you took it or if you hadn’t taken the substance in 5-7 years (depending on the organization). If you have taken anabolic steroids within the last 5-7 years, your only choice would be to enter the non-tested shows.

Sometimes, people who do not use illegal substances enter into non-tested shows for more competition. If you do this and have hopes of turning pro, the chances of it happening may vary (depending on the organization), but for the most part, it is highly unlikely. I have competed in a tested bodybuilding competition and in a non-tested competition. The difference in physiques is mind blowing. The change in the athletes is like comparing Rome to the Dark Ages.

Picking A Contest

Once you have chosen your organization that you want to be a part of, you then have to choose a competition to enter. This will most likely revolve around your yearly schedule. Preparing 6-8 meals a day, weight training, cardio, and all the other activities that you have to do in order to prepare for the competition will be very time consuming.

You will want to choose a contest during a time period in which you have the most free time. If you haven’t researched pre-contest dieting at this time, it would be a good time to start. Learning all the tricks and tools of the trade take many hours of research to understand. Not all articles and opinions are accurate concerning pre-contest diet.

Looking at more than one source and keeping track of what remains constant is one of the best ways to find the best and most popular methods for your quest to get a trophy at the upcoming contest. The hardest part about this is determining which strategy to follow. There are numerous types of diets, cardio, instant tan products, water shedding strategies, etc.

My advice would be to ask people you could trust and pick the methods that you think would personally work best for yourself. Also, you will need to find out what things will be mandatory to have the day of the contest. Posing trunks are essential! At my first contest, someone just rolled up their shorts instead of wearing posing trunks.

Let’s just say that he was 16 years old and got beat by a 14 year old! Also, a thick tan is essential for on stage. The lights shining down on you make yourself appear much more pale than you really are. Some great tanning products include: Pro Tan, Jan Tana, and Dream Tan.

Now that you have made the decision to start competing, the hard part will be to follow the steps necessary to make yourself ready to get on stage. I would recommend reading motivation articles, renting movies such as Pumping Iron or Rocky, and getting family and friends to help you and make sure you are following your diet, etc.

The most important motivation must come from within. You must welcome the changes in your body, diet, and mind. Enjoy each progressing stage that you enter as you get nearer and nearer to your competition. Never feel sorry for yourself. If you are suffering, your opposition might be suffering twice as much. Think of it as a game. The harder you make the game, the more rewarding the finish will be.

Whether it be bodybuilding competitions, fitness competitions or figure competitions that you’re considering remember that competing is not for everyone. Not everyone has the will power to do what you are doing. Prove to yourself that you can do it! Prove that you can compete!

By: Shane Giese

Courtesy Bodybuilding.com

Over the past year or so I’ve been writing articles for Bodybuilding.com and have gotten hundreds of responses from my articles. What I would like to do, to give back to those of you who have taken the time to write me, is to give you a detailed description/guide as to how I won First Place at the 2004 Mr. Oklahoma Bodybuilding Competition in the Light-Heavyweight division.

This article will go through my diet, cardiovascular training, weight training and supplements and will give you some visual proof of how my methods worked for me. Just bare in mind that everyone responds differently to training and you might have to modify your particular program but I think that this will give you a good starting point.

After reading this, I hope that you will be able to apply the principles and theories I used to get yourself a nice trophy to put on the mantle.

Diet

For starters, I used a little different approach this year as to my diet. For those of you who have read my previous contest preparation guides, you will note that this is a much more lenient diet. That is due to the fact that I didn’t get overly fat in the off-season. Let’s begin.

10 Weeks Out

8:00 – ½ cup oatmeal, 6 egg whites w/ one yolk
10:00 – Isopure Zero Carb drink, 3 rice cakes
12:00 – 6 oz. chicken breast, sweet potato, asparagus
3:00 – Isopure Zero Carb Drink, 3 rice cakes
6:00 – Train
7:30 – ABB Mass Recovery Drink
8:30 – 8 oz. steak (sirloin, round), sweet potato, broccoli
10:30 – Isopure Zero Carb Drink

Final 2 Weeks

8:00 – 6 oz. chicken breast, sweet potato
10:00 – Isopure Zero Carb drink, 3 rice cakes
12:00 – 8 oz steak, sweet potato
3:00 – Isopure Zero Carb Drink, 3 rice cakes
6:00 – Train
7:30 – ABB Mass Recovery Drink
8:30 – 8 oz. steak (sirloin, round), sweet potato, broccoli
10:30 – Isopure Zero Carb Drink

As you will notice, there is very little change in my diet throughout the pre-contest preparation. The primary change was made to my first meal where I substituted chicken and sweet potato for oatmeal and eggs.

I don’t know the exact protein amount of this diet. I don’t count calories. I judge my diet based on how I look in the mirror. If I was looking bloated or like I was holding fat I could cut back on some of the higher carb products.

Water Intake:

I drank between 1.0 and 1.5 gallons of water each day. While at work, I would drink it with Crystal Lite Lemonade which has very little sodium. Also, two weeks out from the contest I switched from bottled water to distilled water.

Cardiovascular Training

Due to the fact that I kept off the majority of fat this off-season I was able to take a more leisurely approach to the cardiovascular conditioning.

* 12 weeks to 9 weeks out: Treadmill 30 min/day, 3 x’s/week
* 8 weeks to 6 weeks out: Treadmill 35 min/day, 5 x’s/week
* 5 weeks out: Treadmill 40 min/day, 4 x’s/week
* 4 weeks out: Treadmill 45 min/day, 5 x’s/week
* 3 weeks to 2 days prior to contest: Treadmill 45 min/day, 6 x’s/week

Cardio was performed at lunch time before I ate lunch. I did this to keep my metabolism elevated throughout the day as well as preserve some time in the evenings for family time. This worked excellent for two reasons: 1) I got to spend some time with my family and 2) I wasn’t all wound up in the evening before I went to bed. I had a much easier time sleeping once I started doing cardio over lunch.

I believe it to be best to do cardio before you eat and on as empty a stomach as possible due to the fact that it will put your body into caloric debt and encourage weight loss. This is just my opinion but it seemed to work well for me.

Weight Training

For those of you who haven’t read my articles concerning HIT and Volume Training here are some definitions that will serve to make you understand my approach:

* High-Intensity Training (HIT): Method of training using heavy weights, lower repetitions (6-10), and explosive movements using a large amount of energy over a brief period of time.

HIT focuses more on the larger Type II-b fibers that give your muscles a more voluminous appearance. These fibers fatigue more quickly but produce the greater amount of force compared with Type-I fibers.

* Volume Training: Method of training using medium weights, higher repetitions (12-15), and more succinct movements using a similarly large amount of energy over a more extended period of time.

Volume training focuses on the smaller Type-I fibers that give your muscles a harder, more defined look. These fibers have a greater longevity for training and are more associated with cardiovascular training.

To begin, I’m going to go through my program for the first 10 weeks of my contest preparation. The last part of the section will be what I did the final two weeks before the show. There will be some subtle changes but necessary changes which I will explain at the end.

10 Weeks Out:

Monday: Biceps/Hamstrings/Calves

* Concentration curls: 45 x 8, 50 x 8, 55 x 8, 60 x 6
* Alternating Dumbbell Curls: 35 x 8, 40 x 8, 45 x 8
* Super set with:
* Double Hammer Dumbbell Curls: 30 x 8, 35 x 8, 40 x 8
* High Cable Curls: 70 x 10, 80 x 8, 90 x 8
* Double Leg Curls: 220 x 12, 240 x 12, 260 x 10, 280 x 10
* Stiff-Legged Deadlifts with Dumbbell: 110 x 15, 110 x 15, 110 x 15
* Single Leg Curls with 3 sec pauses: 100 x 8, 110 x 8, 120 x 8
* Calf Raises: 160 x 100 (do as many as possible, rest, continue until you reach 100).

Tuesday: Chest/Triceps/Abs

* Flat Dumbbell Press: 90 x 8, 100 x 8, 110 x 8, 110 x 8=>80 x 8=>50 x 8
* Flat Flyes: 50 x 8, 60 x 8, 70 x 8
* Pec Deck: 150 x 12, 170 x 10, 190 x 8
* Cable Cross-Overs: 100 x 15, 120 x 12, 140 x 10
* Tricep Extensions: 90 x 12, 100 x 12, 110 x 12
* Single Reverse Tri Extensions: 60 x 12, 70 x 10, 80 x 8
* Crunches: 4 sets of 30

Wednesday: Quads/Forearms/Calves

* Double Knee Extensions: 200 x 10, 220 x 10, 240 x 10, 250 x 8
* Leg Presses: 640 x 12, 730 x 12, 820 x 10
* Squats: 225 x 10, 315 x 10, 405 x 8
* Single Knee Extensions with 3 sec pause: 90 x 8, 100 x 8, 110 x 8
* Hip Extensions: 180 x 15, 200, 15, 220 x 15
* Wrist Curls with Barbell (behind back): 115 x 12, 135 x 12, 155 x 12
* Wrist Extension with dumbbells: 25 x 12, 30 x 12, 35 x 12
* Calf Raises: 200 x 40, 220 x 30, 240 x 20
* Seated Calf Raises: 115 x 20, 140 x 20, 165 x 20

Thursday: Back/Biceps/Abs

* Lat Pulls (wide grip): 180 x 12, 200 x 12, 220 x 12
* Lat Pulls (narrow grip): 150 x 12, 160 x 12, 170 x 12
* Hammer Strength Rows: 180 x 10, 230 x 10, 280 x 10
* Seated Cable Rows: 160 x 12, 180 x 12, 200 x 12
* Cable Pull-Overs: 130 x 15, 140 x 15, 150 x 15
* Hyperextensions: No weight x 15 x 3 sets
* Concentration Curls: 35 x 12, 40 x 12, 45 x 10
* Single Dumbbell Preacher Curls: 30 x 15, 35 x 12, 40 x 10
* Ab Machine: 110 x 15, 120 x 15, 130 x 15, 140 x 15

Friday: Shoulders/Traps/Calves

* Single Dumbbell Lateral Raises (standing): 25 x 12, 30 x 12, 35 x 10
* Single Cable Lateral Raises (standing): 20 x 20, 25 x 20, 30 x 20
* Dumbbell Front Raises: 30 x 10, 35 x 10, 40 x 10
* Or
* EZ Bar Front Raises: 65 x 10, 75 x 10, 85 x 10
* EZ Bar Upright Rows: 65 x 10, 75 x 10, 85 x 10
* Shoulder Shrugs with Bar: 225 x 15, 315 x 12, 405 x 12, 495 x 10, 405 x 12, 315 x 12
* Or
* Dumbbell Shrugs: 110 x 15 (for 5 sets)
* Calf Raises: 360 x 15, 450 x 15, 540 x 15, 630 x 15

Saturday: OFF

Sunday: Triceps

* Tricep Extensions: 120 x 8, 130 x 8, 140 x 8, 150 x 8
* Single Reverse Tricep Extension: 70 x 8, 80 x 8, 90 x 8
* Rope Overhead Extensions: 100 x 8, 120 x 8, 140 x 8
* Rope KickBacks: 70 x 8, 80 x 8, 90 x 8
* Bench Dips without weight: x 15

Final Two Weeks:

Monday: Biceps/Hamstrings/Calves

* Concentration curls: 45 x 8, 50 x 8, 55 x 8, 60 x 6
* Alternating Dumbbell Curls: 35 x 8, 40 x 8, 45 x 8
* Super set with:
* Double Hammer Dumbbell Curls: 30 x 8, 35 x 8, 40 x 8
* High Cable Curls: 70 x 10, 80 x 8, 90 x 8
* Double Leg Curls: 220 x 12, 240 x 12, 260 x 10, 280 x 10
* Stiff-Legged Deadlifts with Dumbbell: 110 x 15, 110 x 15, 110 x 15
* Single Leg Curls with 3 sec pauses: 100 x 8, 110 x 8, 120 x 8
* Calf Raises: 160 x 100 (do as many as possible, rest, continue until you reach 100).

Tuesday: Chest/Triceps/Abs

* Incline Dumbbell Press: 90 x 8, 100 x 8, 110 x 8, 110 x 8=>80 x 8=>50 x 8
* Incline Flyes: 40 x 10, 50 x 10, 60 x 10
* Flat Flyes: 40 x 12, 45 x 12, 50 x 12
* Cable Cross-Overs: 100 x 15, 120 x 12, 140 x 10
* Tricep Extensions: 90 x 12, 100 x 12, 110 x 12
* Single Reverse Tri Extensions: 60 x 12, 70 x 10, 80 x 8
* Crunches: 4 sets of 30

Wednesday: Quads/Forearms/Calves

* Double Knee Extensions: 180 x 12, 200 x 12, 220 x 12, 240 x 10
* Leg Presses: 560 x 15, 640 x 15, 730 x 15
* Squats: 225 x 12, 275 x 12, 325 x 12
* Single Knee Extensions with 3 sec pause: 90 x 8, 100 x 8, 110 x 8
* Hip Extensions: 180 x 15, 200, 15, 220 x 15
* Wrist Curls with Barbell (behind back): 115 x 12, 135 x 12, 155 x 12
* Wrist Extension with dumbbells: 25 x 12, 30 x 12, 35 x 12
* Calf Raises: 200 x 40, 220 x 30, 240 x 20
* Seated Calf Raises: 115 x 20, 140 x 20, 165 x 20

Thursday: Back/Biceps/Abs

* Lat Pulls (wide grip): 160 x 15, 180 x 15, 200 x 15
* Lat Pulls (narrow grip): 150 x 12, 160 x 12, 170 x 12
* Hammer Strength Rows: 180 x 12, 200 x 12, 220 x 12
* Seated Cable Rows: 150 x 15, 160 x 15, 170 x 15
* Cable Pull-Overs: 130 x 15, 140 x 15, 150 x 15
* Hyperextensions: No weight x 15 x 3 sets
* Concentration Curls: 35 x 12, 40 x 12, 45 x 10
* Single Dumbbell Preacher Curls: 30 x 15, 35 x 12, 40 x 10
* Ab Machine: 110 x 15, 120 x 15, 130 x 15, 140 x 15

Friday: Shoulders/Traps/Calves

* Single Dumbbell Lateral Raises (standing): 25 x 12, 30 x 12, 35 x 10
* Single Cable Lateral Raises (standing) 20 x 20, 25 x 20, 30 x 20
* Dumbbell Front Raises: 30 x 10, 35 x 10, 40 x 10
* Or
* EZ Bar Front Raises: 65 x 10, 75 x 10, 85 x 10
* EZ Bar Upright Rows: 65 x 10, 75 x 10, 85 x 10
* Shoulder Shrugs with Bar: 225 x 15, 315 x 12, 405 x 12, 495 x 10, 405 x 12, 315 x 12
* Or
* Dumbbell Shrugs: 110 x 15 (for 5 sets)
* Calf Raises: 360 x 15, 450 x 15, 540 x 15, 630 x 15

Saturday: OFF

Sunday: Triceps

* Tricep Extensions: 120 x 8, 130 x 8, 140 x 8, 150 x 8
* Single Reverse Tricep Extension: 70 x 8, 80 x 8, 90 x 8
* Rope Overhead Extensions: 100 x 8, 120 x 8, 140 x 8
* Rope KickBacks: 70 x 8, 80 x 8, 90 x 8
* Bench Dips without Weight: 3 sets of 15 reps

You will notice that there is very little change between the first 10 weeks and the last two weeks. This is due mostly to the fact that I lost little to no strength throughout my dieting and contest preparation. This is primarily as a result of keeping my protein intake high and keeping my intensity up.

Most people may need to change their program up quite a bit due to decreasing strength from dieting. My advice: don’t get so overweight in the off-season. I’m telling you this from experience. The last time I competed I started at 240 and ended up at 185. This year I started at 220 and ended at 195 with a much better physique.

Supplements

Despite what you might think, bodybuilding is a very expensive sport. Because of that fact, I chose to stick with protein drinks/powders only. In my diet I mentioned the Isopure drinks. One thing, I did work in ProLab Pure Whey and Dymatize IsoWhey in for the first protein drink of the day. That being said, here is a list of my supplements:

* Xenadrine EFX: 2/day one hour before workout
* IsoPure Zero Carb (in the glass bottles): 2-3/day
* ABB Mass Recovery (grape): 1/day immediately post workout
* Liver-Rite: 2-3 capsules/day

General Advice

These are just a few of the things I’ve found throughout my short bodybuilding career that seem to make things easier:

1. Start Early: Never wait until the last minute to either diet, start your cardio, or put on your Pro-Tan. This will only increase your anxiety level and thus hinder your results.

2. Get A Workout Partner: This will be the most helpful person in your life for your entire training career; especially pre-contest. Your partner will push you harder and make sure that you are working as hard as you need.

3. Pose Regularly: I started posing 12 weeks out from contest. The first 6 weeks I just did it pretty low intensity for about 15 minutes 3 times a week. The last 4 weeks I posed every night, went through all the mandatory poses twice, and posed for at least 30 minutes.

This will make getting up there on Saturday a breeze. For those of you who have never competed; it’s hot as hell up there. You will sweat and you will cramp unless you are in condition. I was only out-conditioned by one competitor (of course I was bigger, had better symmetry and proportion, and better aesthetics). That’s my b^tch session.

You’ve got to be in posing condition or else you would lose. I practiced my butt off and had no problem holding poses or measuring my breath. Practice, practice, practice. I only started sweating towards the end of the overall posing because I drank too much water back stage and it was over 95 degrees up there.

4. Be Confident, Not Cocky: Backstage at a competition is a bonding session between competitors. The morning pre-judging you are sizing yourself up with the other guys both in your class and in your division. The evening show you are helping each other and making sure everyone gets to the pump up area on time.

I am a very competitive person and because of that I want everyone I’m competing against to look their best. That way, I feel like I’ve accomplished more when beating someone who looked their best also It’s a strange philosophy but it makes me tick and makes everyone around you respect you for being honest.

Tell someone if they missed a spot with their Pro-Tan. Tell them if they are sweating or if they need to get off their feet and rest. Be a good sport. That doesn’t mean you aren’t going to want to beat them but it means that you want to beat them and still have the respect you’ve earned.

Special Thanks

I’d like to thank Jeremy for helping me with my diet, posing, and keeping my head on straight. Thanks to Darrell for showing up each and every workout and for keeping me motivated (even though I kick his ass all over the place). Thanks to Howie for letting me train in his gym for free (BodyTek, Moore, OK) (the best gym in Oklahoma). Wayne, for general advice, posing assistance and for letting me make fun of his age. And especially my wife Melanie and my daughter Erin for always being there.

By: Jon Huston
Courtesy Bodybuilding.com